The present invention is related to manufacturing techniques for optical fiber couplers and, more specifically, to the automated manufacturing of such couplers.
Fiber optic couplers are used to connect optical fibers so that an optical, i.e., light, signal in a fiber passes to one or more fibers, or optical signals from several fibers pass to a single fiber. Networks of optical fibers with numerous couplers are being used with increasing frequency for the transmission of data, voice and video information due to the high transmission capacity of optical fibers, among other reasons.
In a typical coupler a single input fiber joins two output fibers to form a 1.times.2 coupler, or two input fibers join two output fibers to form a 2.times.2 coupler. Other combinations are possible. In a general manufacturing process of such couplers, two or more optical fibers having their outer coating removed are brought together and placed in contact with each other. The fibers may, or may not, be twisted together, depending upon the particular technique used to manufacture the coupler. The fibers are fused together by heat, as the fibers are placed under tension by slowly and carefully pulling them apart at a predetermined rate.
Heretofore, great care in handling the delicate fibers have been required by highly trained technicians with manual, or at best, semi-automated equipment. Thus the manufacturing costs for couplers are relatively high with production volumes low. This situation is an impediment to the desirable spread of fiber optic networks.
The present invention solves or substantially mitigates these problems with an automated workstation for fiber optic couplers.